Tips for eating out when you are vegan

There are many benefits to being plant based, and there seems to be more and more people that are turning to a vegan lifestyle. Just because it is becoming more popular doesn’t mean that at every restaurant you go to there will be something you can eat however. This can almost be either a put off for some people making the switch, or a put down for the people that want to go out to restaurants with their friends but feel excluded. It doesn’t have to be. All you need to do is be prepared and be realistic. Below are my tips for eating out when you are vegan guidelines which I follow, but I do this knowing that sometimes you just have to roll with it.

Plan ahead and look up the restaurant menu online, that way you can feel comfortable going into the restaurant.

Either check out the restaurant or cafe online or call the restaurant for options or suggestions, or even better yet ask the chef what they can suggest. I highly recommend you try and remain calm and pleasant though and they are more likely to try and accommodate you.

Ask if the restaurant has a vegetarian menu- some restaurants will actually have a secret menu, so it does not hurt to ask.

Learn to be creative with sides. Combining, steam vegetables with a side salad, for example. Or combining different parts of other dishes, asking for no dressing or a different sauce which is on another dish.

If you think your options will be limited, eat beforehand.

If you are unsure whether a dish is vegan, simply ask. As a vegan we generally have to be a pretty suspicious bunch, restaurants like to slip in dairy and butter. So always ask what something is cooked in, like mushrooms for example.

Learn which cuisines are more vegan friendly such as; Mexican, Indian, ethnic, Thai.

Try not have high expectations; occasionally you might have to have wedges/ chips but instead focus on the company you are with, rather than the food.

These are simple suggestions, but are easily forgotten, and they can make a big difference to ensure you too get to have a pleasurable dining experience. Plus lucky for us, more and more restaurants are getting creative with their menus.